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HARRISBURG - Talk about reform has outweighed results in the four years since voters unseated incumbents and sent large numbers of freshmen lawmakers to Harrisburg.

The scorecard since the newcomers arrived is a new open records law and a series of rules changes in the House and Senate intended to make the chambers more open and accountable.

Bills providing for broader changes like campaign finance limits appear stuck in the committee process even as the Capitol reels from ongoing corruption investigations and Pennsylvania's worst fiscal crisis in decades.

Legislative leaders say the reform effort is not over. They see rules changes as a more practical way to advance that agenda than trying to get legislation through two chambers and signed by the governor.

House rules adopted since 2007 ended midnight floor sessions, provide more debate of bills before voting, require ethics training for members and dilute the power of a leadership-controlled committee.

When he took the leadership reins in 2009, House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Butler Township, instituted a new policy requiring that caucus contracts with vendors and consultants be reviewed and renewed every 45 days to make sure the contract terms are being met.

"I think the culture of Harrisburg is changing," Eachus said.

The Senate is preparing for a vote soon on rules to explicitly forbid senators and staffers from political activity on Senate time and to forbid senators from renting district offices from firms in which they or immediate family members have a financial interest.

The latter proposal was prompted by revelations that Sen. Robert Mellow, D-Peckville, directed more than $200,000 in state-funded rent payments for his district office in Peckville to a company co-owned by his then-wife and then himself after their divorce.

The Senate is responding to the latest developments in the corruption probes, said Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati, R-Jefferson County, who assumed that role in 2007. Senators are studying the jury verdicts in the Bonusgate conviction of former House Democratic leader Michael Veon to see what is applicable to the rule banning political activity, he said.

Critics say chamber rules are no substitute for stricter laws because they lack permanence.

"Rules are the junk food of government," said Timothy Potts, founder of Democracy Rising, a legislative reform advocacy group. "They can be suspended at any time for any reason."

The 2008 Open Records law making more state and local documents open to public review is cited by legislative leaders as a high point of the reform effort.

But the Legislature exempts itself from the law's key provision: the presumption that records are open to the public. Instead, the law lists 19 topics pertaining mainly to finances or meeting records that are regarded as legislative records accessible to the public. The House and Senate chief clerks denied requests last year by The Associated Press to give the public the right to review correspondence between lawmakers and lobbyists. They said the correspondence is not covered by the list of 19 items.

Both chief clerks told Times-Shamrock newspapers that formal open records requests must be submitted to obtain basic information about health benefits for lawmakers and staffers.

A number of newer lawmakers are trying to effect change through personal example.

An increasing number opt not to take the $163 per diem and submit receipts for daily expenses instead. In the Northeast delegation, Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, and Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-Tamaqua, have done so.

"I believe this is the best way for me to be accountable for my expenses," Baker said. "By turning in actual expenses, people can view what they were."

Rep. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, has proposed a change in House rules to end the practice of collecting per diems without receipts. Yudichak's House Resolution 764 would require lawmakers to file for reimbursements with the chief clerk and set a limit at the top per diem rate used by the Internal Revenue Service.

"By not requiring any receipts for expenses, the system undercuts common-sense accountability standards employed by every private business and citizen," Yudichak said.

A veteran advocate for state government reform expressed disappointment at the pace of change. Given the increasing number of lawmakers who got elected on reform platforms, it's surprising they have not adopted more reform laws, said Barry Kauffman, executive director of Pennsylvania Common Cause.

The most effective way to change the culture at the Capitol is to put limits on campaign donations from individuals and political action committees, he said. Pennsylvania is one of 11 states that allow unlimited contributions to candidates.

"Pennsylvania is three decades behind most of the rest of the nation in this critical area of protecting our elections and government from corruption," Kauffman said.

rswift@timesshamrock.com

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5 posted comments

The absolute answer to reform is to cut the numer of legislators in half ....... in half, not reduced -- cut it in half! That includes the Senate. Luzerne county is devided among 3 Senators, where is the logic in that? These people are phonies and the fact that Yudichak can appear publicly after using per diems to purchse a real estate property is disgraceful. I would love to see his income tax returns to see if he is taking the pay raise or is he givng it to chairity? If he is giving it to charity and still taking the deduction, that would just be a method of backdooring the income. That pay raise shold have been rolled back and I didn't see any effort to do so. Like I said, phonies!

Yes Kathy, there is a Santa Claus, a tooth fairy and gold at the end of a rainbow!

Do I believe my eyes when I read this article? The next item I will see is Representative John T. Yudichak is a registered Republican.How long have you served as a Representative?

It is less than 25 days before voting and the timing of this news release is all about free press.

Who is this man? Is this the same man who benefited from per diems. Why the change of heart now?I guess the voice of the people has been heard.Do you support Todd Eachus?

Here is something to add to your bill:

Return the money for per diems to assist with the budget problem.Where were the receipts from previous years?How can we track this money given to you?How can you defend holding every citizen hostage during your budget debates?Who is John T. Yudichak? Is this the same person who benefited from the per diems?Please return the $163 per diem and submit receipts from the last ten years!

It has been more than three years since the Bonus Scandal investigation began, and lawmakers have passed no laws to prevent it from happening again.It has been five years since the Pay Raise of 2005, and lawmakers have passed no laws to prevent that from happening again. One recently said that the pay raise wasn't a scandal, more like a misunderstanding.It's been nine years since legislative leaders gave us the second most gerrymandered legislative districts in America, and lawmakers have passed no laws to prevent that from happening again.It's been nine years since lawmakers raided the state pension funds to give themselves a 50% increase in their pensions, and despite annual warnings of awful things to come, lawmakers have done nothing to return those pension funds to solvency. As a result, beginning next year the average property owner will see an increase of $550 per year for the next 20 years.Our lawmakers have refused to give us laws that can be enforced, only rules that can't. Our lawmakers have refused to solve problems if if puts them at political risk, only creating problems for local governments and citizens to solve if they can.The General Assembly still won't disclose to citizens what they're doing with secret accounts that the attorney general claims contain millions of dollars.If you hired a mechanic to fix your brakes and, after nine years, they still didn't work, I suspect you'd find someone else to do the job. It's time for lawmakers to pass the highest standards of public integrity in America. Anything less invites yet another voter backlash.

Amazing that a reduction of the number of legislators was not mentioned in this article.This is the only reform that would give the taxpayers a sense of satisfaction.Having one of the largest legislatures in the country and looking for more money for the budget when the solution is sitting right there in Harriburg is incomprehensible.While taxpayers find more ways to be frugal,these politicians overlook the real solution.